FORMER ZIMBABWE MINISTERS CHARGED WITH CORRUPTION

Two former Zimbabwean
cabinet ministers who served under ex-president Robert Mugabe have been charged
with corruption, their lawyers said on Saturday, the latest sign of a crackdown
on officials loyal to the ex-President.

Mugabe, 93, stood down in November 2017 after
37 years in power following a de facto military coup, making way for his former
deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, to take over, Reuters reported.

When the military seized power they arrested
key allies of Mugabe and his wife, Grace, who was vying with Mnangagwa to
succeed her husband.

Former foreign minister, Walter Mzembi and
ex-energy minister, Samuel Undenge, were charged on Friday with “criminal abuse
of office,” their lawyers said.

They both deny
wrongdoing.

Undenge is accused of issuing a $12,650
contract without due tender to a company that did no work.

Mzembi and Undenge were granted bail on
Saturday, asked to surrender their passports and remanded until January 22 when
their cases will be heard.

“We are going to make an application for an
exception to the charge because the charges that my client is facing are
ridiculous,” Job Sikhala, Mzembi’s lawyer, told journalists outside the court.

Undenge’s lawyer, Alex Muchadehama, described
the case against his client as a “circus.”